What scientists saw in unique footage about the Tasmanian tiger that disappeared 100 years ago

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Tasmanian tiger is an animal that until now could only be seen in a picture or photograph. These striped marsupial predators of Australia became extinct at the beginning of the last century. However, some unique footage of the last known Tasmanian tiger was recently discovered. And now everyone can see him "alive". The archived video shows Benjamin, a resident of the Hobart Zoo.

The Tasmanian tiger (thylacin) was the largest marsupial predator in existence. Outwardly, he looked like a large dog and resembled a wolf in habits, for which he received another name - the marsupial wolf. In length it reached more than a meter, and in height - 60 cm. On the back of this animal there were "tiger" stripes.

In Australia, thylacine became extinct about two thousand years ago, unable to withstand the competition with the dingo. These animals remained in Tasmania for a long time, but the settlement of the island by Europeans accelerated the disappearance of the Tasmanian tiger from the face of the Earth.

Benjamin's sad fate

An inhabitant of the Beumaris Zoo in Hobart, a pet named Benjamin is the last known Tasmanian tiger. A rare video presented by the National Film and Sound Archives of Australia.

“These images were not known to the public for decades until they were discovered and made public by researchers Branden Holmes, Gareth Linnard and Mike Williams,” the organization said in a statement. - The tiger is featured in the 1935 film Tasmania - Wonderland.

The video was filmed by Salvation Army Headquarters Officer Sidney Cook, who is presented by the NFSA as "the unsung pioneer of Australian cinema." The footage captures zoo caretaker Arthur Reed and his assistant thundering in the far right corner of the cage, trying to get the animal's attention and get some unexpected reaction from it.

Despite the fact that this scene in the film looks very attractive, it is known that Benjamin did not live very well at the Beaumaris Zoo. He was taken from the Florentine valley and spent the rest of his days away from his natural habitat.

“It's a long sad story of an animal that was once the world's largest marsupial carnivore. In addition, this demonstrates the social decline that took place in Australia, writes Australian Geographic.

How Benjamin died

It is known that Benjamin died of hypothermia. On that fateful night, frosts occurred, but the animal did not have the opportunity to go into cover. The tiger was forced to lie on the cold concrete. Benjamin had a high fever and began to shiver. Unfortunately, the tiger never recovered from its illness: it died in 1936, a year after Cook had filmed it. By the way, the director himself died just a few months after Benjamin.

The National Museum of Australia says Benjamin died of "suspicious negligence." In other words, on that unfortunate night, the tiger was simply forgotten.

Since then, the Tasmanian tiger has been considered extinct. He acquired the status of an almost mythical animal …

Why did the Tasmanian tigers become extinct?

When European settlers arrived in Australia and Tasmania, many of the people who settled on the new land were farmers who brought livestock to the area. The Tasmanian tiger was considered a threat to livestock raising. They began to be mercilessly killed.

Back in 1863, the famous naturalist John Gould predicted extinction for these animals. He noted that due to the fact that little Tasmania is populated more and more densely, and its pristine forests are increasingly intersected by roads from the east coast to the west, the number of these unique animals will rapidly decrease and very soon the Tasmanian tiger will become an animal of the past.

This prophecy came true - the Tasmanian tigers, hated by the farmers, were hunted, shot, trapped on them, and the hunters were given a large reward for their capture. In addition, at the beginning of the last century, Tasmanian tigers began to die from an infectious disease - presumably dog plague.

Unfortunately, the Australian government was too late to concern itself with the fate of this species - it was taken under state protection just two months before the death of Benjamin.

Could Tasmanian tigers survive?

Interestingly, in the last century, some researchers for a long time refused to believe in the complete extinction of thylacin. For example, in 1984 the famous tycoon Ted Turner offered $ 100,000 for proof of the existence of a Tasmanian tiger on Earth. There were other studies, but in the end this animal was still officially declared extinct, like a dodo.

By the way, a study was conducted four years ago that showed that Benjamin in the 1930s may not have been the only Tasmanian tiger in the world. Allegedly, thylacins were still found in the 1940s. Some Australians and Tasmanians today claim to have seen these animals in the forests, but there is no documentary evidence for these reports.

Interesting research results were published in 2017 by the website newscientist.com. Scientists have calculated what the chances are that the Tasmanian tiger still exists. The answers are disappointing: 1 chance in 1.6 trillion.

Colin Carlson of the University of California at Berkeley and his colleagues have been collecting confirmed and unconfirmed observations since 1900 to simulate the likelihood of the disappearance of thylacins at different points in time. Their least optimistic scenario took into account only confirmed observations, while the most optimistic scenario took into account unconfirmed observations as well. The team's most optimistic prediction says that Tasmanian tigers could only remain in the wild until the late 1950s, and the likelihood that they are still alive was 1 in 1.6 trillion in 2017.

“One problem with this model is that it is based solely on recorded observations and may be less applicable to a remote wilderness like Cape York,” said Brendan Wintle of the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia.

His research team has developed an alternative model that includes data from previous searches in remote areas, as well as aspects of the animal's biology and behavior, such as its nocturnal nature, which makes sighting less likely. However, even this model allows us to conclude that this animal is extinct, and the last possible date of its extinction on the planet is 1983.

“Unfortunately, we also have to lower the curtain,” Wintle concludes and immediately adds, “But if I suddenly turn out to be wrong, then I will be very happy with everyone.

Meanwhile, Australian scientists do not give up hope of cloning this animal (a piece of animal tissue that was preserved in alcohol at the beginning of the last century has been preserved).

Read also about why "dragons" and giant kangaroos have become extinct in Australia.